1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicle covers which can be temporarily installed on an outer surface of the vehicle for protecting the vehicle from hail, falling objects, or other types of exterior impact damage, as well as from the normally deleterious effects of sunlight and environmental aging.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automobile and other types of vehicles suffer damage each year in the form of hail and other types of exterior impact damage. At least about half of the continental United States, from the rocky mountains to the east coast is affected by hail each year. Roughly a seven state area in the midwest and southwestern United States is particularly susceptible to hail damage. Several areas in Texas have experienced hail damage in the millions of dollars in recent years. Damage to uncovered vehicles has caused insurance rates to skyrocket. In addition to individual automobiles which have been damaged, automobile dealerships typically have no way to protect new car inventory and usually resort to selling damaged vehicles at a discounted price.
A variety of protective car “covers” are known in the prior art. Many of these covers are intended merely to protect the vehicle from typical outdoor weather conditions including sun, rain, snow, ice or the like, but are not specifically designed to protect from falling objects and impact strikes such as is caused by hail. The covers which have specifically been designed for hail protection tend to fall into two basic types. These have been described as the impact barrier method and the impact adsorbing method.
The impact barrier method of hail protection uses a cover with an accompanying space or distance between the vehicle surface and the protective cover. These type devices tend to be bulky and complicated and, in some cases, uneconomical to manufacture.
The impact absorbing methods utilize a material or a combination of materials which cover the exposed surfaces of the vehicle and which generally lie in contact with the vehicle surface. These coverings range from bubble-wrap type materials to covers which incorporate rigid plates. While these devices may work quite effectively for the vehicle in some respects, they also tend to have the disadvantages of portability and expense.
The following references were located on a prior art search and are intended to be representative of the state of the art:
Pat. No.InventorIssue Date4,807,922GloverFeb. 28, 19894,734,312SugiyamaMar. 29, 19885,738,403TysonApr. 14, 19985,800,006PettigrewSep. 1, 19986,893,074WilsonMay 17, 2005Publ. No.InventorPubl. Date2008/0174144ColemanJul. 24, 2008European Patent Application No. EP 0768202.
The '922 patent shows an impact car cover which includes an outer plastic-like flexible layer, a padded central laminate and an inner laminate of a vinyl-like material. The reference uses very general terminology in describing the inner layer as being “again of a vinyl-like material” (column 4, lines 38-40).
The '312 patent uses an outer thin plastic layer and an elastic foamed plastic inner layer.
The '403 patent teaches the use of an outer layer of water resistant nylon or polyester, a center layer of closed cell polyurethane foam and an inner layer of woven nylon or polyester.
The '006 patent teaches a top layer and bottom layer of a flexible vinyl-like polymeric material.
The '074 patent teaches a top layer of chamois leather or suede, a mid-layer of non-memory foam rubber and an inner most layer of neoprene rubber. This design includes the use of panels of covering material, but the panels are intended to be used in place on the vehicle while the vehicle is in motion.
The '144 publication teaches the use of a high tensile strength polymer layer surrounded by inner and outer metallic layers.
The EP '202 publication again teaches the use of sectors of material but they are made up of tarpaulin and padding material.
While these prior art covers may have provided some degree of minimal protection, they were not sufficient to protect from large diameter hail or were deficient in some other major regard. For example, certain of the covers were so bulky that they required substantial storage space when not in use. Because of their bulk, they could not easily be rolled up and transported in the trunk or other compartment of the vehicle. Certain of the prior art covers using bubble wrap type plies were one time use only devices, since the bubble wrap would be punctured by falling hail.
Thus, despite the advances represented by the art discussed above, there has continued to be lacking a car protective covering that is of a construction expressly intended for the purpose of protecting the car from high impact incidents and yet which is economical to produce and which is made of a pliable and flexible materials which facilitate the storage of the device.